Accelerating Innovation Learning Pathways

Having failed to successfully engage, train and retain a few millennials in my global innovation culture consulting, education and coaching business, I hit the proverbial pause button, and asked myself, why isn’t it working out?

As a seasoned corporate educator and coach, upon retreat and reflection, three things stood out to me and these might even be common across all corporate demographics;

  1. The “instant learning” hook, seduces some people into believing that, for example, a 5-minute video, or an 18-minute TED talk can give them the content they need to master a subject.
  2. The “fast paced, reactive environment” prohibits some people from being fully present, from suspending judgement, from sensing and perceiving systemically “what is really going on” in the current situation or business problem.
  3. The “inner self management” disciplines and practices are absent, inhibiting people from investing time, paying attention and being intentional in retreating and reflecting, indwelling and illuminating to see the current situation or problem with the “fresh eyes” needed to discover and emerge creative ideas, or hidden solutions.

Finally, as soon as things got a bit “tough” or “rough” or problematic or conflictual, as they do in the innovation space, I noticed that people habitually either sunk into their aggressive defensive reactive responses and “shot the messenger” in this instance, me, or sunk into their passive defensive responses and avoided taking any responsibility for their role in causing the uncomfortable situation, and ran fast away!

We all lost an incredible opportunity to learn what and how to change, to be more effective and resourceful, in this and future situations!

Indicating an absence of any real or deep learning, which then made me ask – why is it that we have forgotten to value change and learning, how can we learn to take responsibility for manifesting the kind of future we all want and would all love to have?

The learning curve is the earning curve

In the Deloitte Report on Corporate Learning in 2016 – Ten Trends Shaping the Future, Josh Bersin reinforces and validates my findings, stating that the Modern Learner is “overwhelmed” and that today’s employees are largely “overwhelmed, distracted and impatient.”

He also introduces us to the “new world of work, with learning at the centre” telling us that “the learning curve is the earning curve.”

Why aren’t we listening and co-creating this new world of work?

It’s been 27 years since Peter Senge published The Fifth Discipline – The Art & Practice of The Learning Organization where he outlined five approaches (theories and methods) for developing three core learning capabilities: fostering aspiration, developing reflective conversation, and understanding complexity.

“Deep learning, the embodiment of new capabilities for effective action… (is) a developmental process that occurs over (considerable) time…”(ibid), yet we face problems that demand fast action. It requires ongoing cycles of action and reflection, in contexts that place little value on reflection. It depends upon trust and collaboration, in settings where people are increasingly distrustful and have little opportunity to build different relationships. Almost twenty years ago, we called this the “core leadership paradox of our time: action is critical, but the action we need can spring only from a reflective stance… that can transform and ultimately integrate our four human structures: cognition, emotion, body and will.” (ibid)    - Peter Senge

Taking action – developing a reflective stance

One of my goals as a leadership coach and corporate educator, is to know how to fast track a leader’s consciousness, realising that the key clue lay in, what Senge describes as transforming and integrating our motivational, cognitive, emotive, visceral structures.  I discovered another clue in Otto Scharmer’s “Theory U” where he provides us with a dense yet cohesive construct for leading from the future as it emerges, a process called “Presencing”.

Considering, and being willing to work with, peoples overwhelm, distractedness and impatience, at ImagineNationâ„¢ we adapted these core structures, as the overall learning structures for our global innovation education and coaching programs, to ensure that deep learning occurs.

Having authentic conversations that create the space for deep and meaningful change

We are all enjoying the shift in both macro and micro agile learning channels towards the use and adaptation of Story and Conversations, to facilitate learning and change.

As part of a collaborative event, held here in Melbourne between the Organizational Development Association (ODA) and the International Coach Federation (ICF), my colleague and I co-created an evolutionary model, to enable people to have authentic conversations that create the space for deep and meaningful change.

By embodying and enacting these stages and steps, people learn how to co-sense, co-presence and co-create the space for deep and meaningful change through;

  • Creating a Container: that gives people permission to be their authentic selves, to take responsibility for their actions and outcomes, because they feel connected and trusted and are motivated, open minded (curious) and hearted (compassionate) in their willingness and desire to collaborate.
  • Sensing and Perceiving the Whole System: in ways that allow people to see with “fresh eyes” (not knowing) “what is really going on” to gather information, associate the key patterns and trends, diverging and converging within the social field, with discernment and detachment (open mind, open heart and open will).
  • Generating Discovery: deep diving through generative listening, inquiry and debate to safely challenge the status quo, provocate and disrupt conventional ways of seeing, perceiving and responding to people’s internal and external worlds. Creating cracks, openings and thresholds for possibilities and opportunities, not previously imagined, for change, to emerge (open mind, open heart and open will).
  • Emerging Creative Ideas for Change and Innovative Solutions: through facilitating options, making choices, co-creating the desired future, solution and a collaborative outcome. Being tolerant and willing to experiment, adapt and grow by sharing reflections to learn, by knowing how to advance the transformation and integration of our four human structures – cognition, emotion, body and will.

Choosing the authentic learning pathway

This is truly an immersive and emergent process, which, with experimentation and practice can be adapted to meet short and longer time frames.

It is an enormously powerful change because it potentially reduces peoples overwhelm as it involves learning how to emerge creative ideas and innovative solutions for change. It holds people’s attention as a crucial part of the overall process, and because is it a deeply iterative, generative and co-creative process, it potentially reduces people’s impatience.

This is because they are deeply engaged in a trusted and collaborative, inspiring and purposeful, meaningful learning and change process that is open to alternate world views, operates from the highest source of human possibility, and taps into the whole (Source).

Find out more about our work at ImagineNation™ then join the next free monthly webinar in our Making Innovation a Habit Series and “Be-Come an Agility Shifter” – the emerging role for innovation leadership. Register now at https://www.imaginenation.com.au/free-monthly-webinars/

It’s on Thursday, 26th October 2017 at 11.00pm London, 12.00pm Amsterdam, 6.00am New York, 3.30pm New Delhi, 6.00pm Singapore, 7.00pm Perth and at 9.00pm in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
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janet-sernackJanet Sernack is an ICF ACC accredited executive coach, corporate trainer, group facilitator and culture and change consultant with some of Australia’s and Israel’s top 100 companies. She is the Founder of ImagineNationâ„¢ an innovation education company that provides innovation e-learning programs including The Coach for Innovators Certified Programâ„¢ experiential learning events including The Start-Up Gameâ„¢. Follow @JanetSernack

Janet Sernack

Janet is the Founder of ImagineNationâ„¢ a coaching, education & culture consulting company who leads the way and helps businesses achieve their innovation goals by challenging businesses to be, think & act differently to create a world where people matter & innovation is the norm.

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